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In Madrid, our trainers Dani and Inigo have been working with Dinamia, a social consultancy specialising in economic, social and educational projects, both in Spain and Latin America. Dinamia has been working collectively since 2004 and is made up of professionals from the social and solidarity economy, who propose working with new management models and strategic consulting for public and private institutions and the Third Sector.
Using a Theory U approach, combined with different strategic planning tools as Theory of Change, Dani and Inigo facilitated Dinamia’s Strategic Planning Process considering perceptions and expectations of different actors inside and outside Dinamia, an exploration of assumptions, mindsets and belief systems relationships, governing values and intentions, the desired change, the conditions for the change, and Dinamia’s contribution to changes for the future’
We received a great deal of feedback from those who participated in this process, including the below:
"First I would like to tell you that it has been long time ago since I learned so much from 2 consultants; from their methodologies, from their holistic understanding of organisational work. This is the first time I find professionals who are not afraid to dive deep into the social life of an organisation, who do not escape from the cultural dimension, power relations...
The other key lesson is for me has been how to build the consultant role. Being a Consultant implies finding a delicate balance between empathy and distance, presence and detachment. I think you have achieved this outstandingly. I congratulate you for this. It is not easy at all".
See MoreGreat sharing on our last day of Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM) Training of Trainers, near Tarcoles, on Pacific coast of Costa Rica. The 6 participating Latin America and Caribbean country teams presented solid strategies for supporting the development/revision of pilot site fisheries management plans. Coaching provided by REBYC II-LAC project coordinator, senior lecturer from University of West Indies, Chris Grose and Silvia Capezzuoli.
Learn more about EAFM here...
http://www.eafmlearn.org/
We were pleased to recently host members of the Ministry of Agriculture, Mozambique, in the UK for a 10 days tailor made workshop on Monitoring and Evaluation for Results. The participants were part of the Agricultural Productivity Program for Southern Africa (APPSA) which seeks to improve technology generation and dissemination within and among participating countries in southern Africa by building capacity within national R&D systems and enhancing regional collaboration. Using the current organisational documents of APPSA, we covered the fundamentals of M&E and then went into depth about tools and techniques related to M&E including Theory of Change, Participatory Data gathering and Knowledge Sharing.
See MoreDani, Giulio, Silvia, Mick and Leigh are in Lesotho facilitating a workshop on RBM for the Lesotho Data project funded by UNDP and European Union. Great start with social and institutional map. More news soon...
See MoreThe Italian NGO ACRA works in different countries, directly implementing projects and working through partners.
Recently, staff at HQ articulated the need to harmonise their understanding of M&E concepts and tools. Leigh and Silvia facilitated a workshop for ACRA in Milan, allowing project and support staff to develop their own understanding of what M&E means to ACRA.
We worked on theories of change for a couple of projects and critically, spent time looking at how to develop and strengthen the relationship between projects and the wider, organizational learning environment, ensuring engagement and accountability.
See MoreWe were very pleased asked by AVERT to support their thinking process as they develop their next 5 year Strategic Plan. As a starting point we explored the team’s thinking around AVERT’s work and reason for being- working globally on HIV and AIDS prevention. Using Theory of Change we discussed the importance of personal and organisational assumptions, highlighting how much we need to be aware of these as they frame our view of reality and social change. The AVERT team developed their theory of change over a number of weeks and IMA provided continuous support.
The next step was facilitation of the team’s analysis of AVERT as a learning organization using a number of organizational assessment frameworks. They mapped their knowledge flows and identified types of knowledge sharing that AVERT wants to access and provide, both internally and externally, to support and improve the work it is doing.
The workshops have allowed staff to voice their personal perspectives of how the organisation operates, bringing in institutional memory as well as fresh ideas, while all the time fostering ownership of the joint process. Both workshops were very well-received by the small team, and provided a much needed safe space in which to explore organisational rationale, roles and functions; and contextualise institutional memory and new directions.
See MoreGiulio and Daniel have recently been to Murmansk (Russia) where they facilitated a Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation design system for the Barents, Baltic Nature and People Programme. The workshop supported the WWF Russia Murmansk staff in designing a Participatory M&E system integrated with qualitative data collection and analysis. Participants had a practical experience around the value of timelines and Stories of Change for M&E purposes integrating a qualitative approach to the usual Key Performance Indicators (KPI's).
See MoreSupporting fisheries management in Mexico. Working with The Nature Conservancy, Mexican government agencies CONAPESCA and INAPESCA, and fisheries consultant Derek Staples, Silvia is running the Essential EAFM course in Mexico City this week. The main participants are INAPESCA and CONAPESCA fisheries agencies from both Pacific and Atlantic programmes, plus SEMARNAT (environment agency) and FAO.
This is the 1st of a longer-term series of nine modules (online and face-to-face) planned over a 3-year for building capacity for the two main government agencies. The popular Essential EAFM course has been translated in Spanish and is running for the first time in the central and Latin America region. Spanish materials and an online version, in both English and Spanish, will be available soon at www.eafmlearn.org
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Evidence from around the world shows that a broader understanding of Social Protection, encompassing universal elements, rather than a poverty focus, ultimately contributes not only to enhancing economic and social well being, but also contributes directly to more cohesive societies. The mindset shift is to move from a benefit approach to one of entitlements as citizens.
Last week Silvia Capezzuoli lead on facilitating a week-long WFP-funded training initiative for enhancing social protection in Kenya, with content developed and presented by Development Pathways. This training of trainers (TOT) was the starting point of a WFP-supported Learning and Development programme supporting the Social Protection Secretariat (SPS) core national team to advocate for broader social protection in Kenya.
We created an environment where SPS staff felt comfortable with and debated new content. Most importantly, we ensured participants practised delivering actual mini-sessions to familiarise themselves with all materials and skills needed to facilitate the 2-day social protection course themselves as they move forward.
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A new website is launched for people working in fisheries and natural resources management which takes an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM). This approach balances the environmental, human and social well-being within governance frameworks. The website includes free materials and a toolkit developed by the EAFM consortium, which IMA is a member of. The materials serve two purposes; a participatory training package for fisheries mid-level government and NGO managers, and also a toolkit for advocacy and policy- level influencing. As part of the EAFM consortium IMA took part in piloting the policy toolkit for leaders, executives and decision makers in Bangkok in June (see photo). In recent years IMA has contributed to the mainstreaming of EAFM in fishery management and the good news is we can now see impact; the Philippine Government has formally institutionalised EAFM as a planning vehicle for its fishery management. It is also being undertaken with explicit links to integrated coastal management planning, bridging the divide that often emerges between fishery management and broader-scale coastal planning.
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"I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who."
-Rudyard Kipling